Abstract
Pearl millet,
Pennisetum glaucum,
was likely domesticated in the southwestern fringes of the Sahel zone of West Africa in northeast Mali beginning before 2500
bce
, and from this region rapidly spread, within less than 1000 years of domestication, eastwards across the Sahelian/north Savanna zone to India, with archaeobotanical remains providing evidence for the spread of other African crops by 1700
bce
.